Age of Marvels
by justplainrii
Summary: Hashirama loses his final battle with Madara, and Konoha is destroyed. But eighty years later, Hashirama is revived, and is recruited by Hatake "Fury" Kakashi, the leader of a resistance movement against the Uchihas. Rechristened "Hokage," Hashirama joins Fury in recruiting other heroes for one final stand against Madara, to avenge his village, and save the world. Avengers AU
1. The First

_Author's Notes_

The following is an Elseworlds re-imagining of the story of The Avengers, set in the Naruto universe. I own neither properties, but I'm sure all of you know that.

Updates will be sporadic, as this is just something I'm writing for fun in between working on my other fic, _In The Blood_. Hopefully you'll enjoy one or the other.

Cheers, and let the Avengers assemble!

- Rii

* * *

_Age of Marvels_

* * *

In the last minute of it all, Hashirama remembered three things.

The first thing was his desperate shout over the roar of the fire and the fox that it didn't have to end this way.

Madara ignored him.

The second was the creeping, gut-twisting feeling of change, of death, as those fire-wheel eyes got their hold of him, and began turning his skin into wood, his wounds and blood into leaves.

And the third and last thing was the horrible, oxygen-starved cry that ached out of Madara's mouth as, with his last ounce of consciousness, Hashirama thrust forth his flaming, wooden limbs, and embraced Madara with fire.

As they, together, burned, as Hashirama's eyes closed for what he knew was the last time, he saw Madara's face, burned to a red skull, his eyes still open and swearing revenge.

And then, nothing.

* * *

Hashirama's own survival surprised him.

Waking in a bed somewhere, he sat up quite quickly, and after coming to the conclusion that, yes, he was alive, he took great care to look over all his fingers, the skin of his arms—still there, and completely healed.

As for where he had woken up, it seemed to be a peasant's house; wooden, and quite ordinary. The futon that covered him had a few patches on it.

"Ah, you're awake!"

There was a female voice behind him, and he almost flinched in hearing it. She laughed at this, and she continued to smile as she talked.

"You were out for the longest time. We were worried you wouldn't exactly make it."

She was a young girl, maybe twenty years old, and roughly pretty; she wore a kimono of yellow checked cloth, and it was not tied neatly.

"Where… _am_ I?" Hashirama said.

"Ootani, my village," the girl replied. "My Pa found you while out gettin' firewood. You're kinda the talk of the village right now, buddy."

Hashirama, however, struggled with the unfamiliarity of the name. "Which country are we in, I mean…?"

"Oh, I thought you'd know. Sorry. We're in the Land of Fire, 'bout a day's journey from the Land of Rice," the girl replied. "Kinda north-ish."

He and Madara had traveled that far? He began to get out of the futon.

"Whoa, whoa, hey, where you goin'?" the girl said.

"I have to get back to my village." He noticed that the girl's family had dressed him in new clothes, while he was asleep; they were honest folks, too, it seemed, for his necklace was still there, pressed against his chest.

"Oh, where's that? My Pa can go with you when he gets home."

"No, sorry, I have no time," Hashirama replied.

"Oh, buddy, you were asleep for almost a week. I don't think you should be goin' anywhere without somethin' to eat, at least. That isn't miso broth, anyways…"

The girl seemed to be right, for no sooner had he taken a few steps did Hashirama stumble, feeling the intense weakness in his legs. Luckily, the girl caught him.

"Come on, big guy, let's siddown," she said. "My Ma and Pa are out right now, but I'm here to look after you, 'kay? The least you can do is tell me your name while I get you some lunch."

"I suppose I could do that," he replied, sitting back, feeling quite foolish. "I'm Hashirama, of the Senju clan. And you?"

"Jeez, so formal." The girl went to attend to a pot in the hearth at the middle of the room. "I'm Mitarashi Anko."

"Pleased to meet you."

"Yeah, same." Anko added a lump of seasonings from a small pot to the rice porridge in the pot, and stirred. "Funny, I thought the Senju clan had all but died out."

"There's still a few of us left," Hashirama replied, smiling easily.

"Yeah, apparently." Anko continued stirring the pot. "So, I assume you're a ninja, then?"

"You assume correctly."

"So what's a ninja like you doin' all the way up in the country, sleeping ass-naked in the forest?"

Hashirama's face flushed. "Is that how I was found?"

"So my Pa tells me."

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to recall. "I was in a battle. And I believe I lost."

"Huh. A duel?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Duels usually ain't that loud or destructive," Anko replied. "I mean, if it's just two guys goin' at it and not whole armies."

Hashirama blinked a few times. "You didn't consider _that_ loud?"

"Consider _what?_"

"The fight between me and Madara-sama."

Anko's eyebrows rose dramatically. "Whoa, you were fighting with Uchiha Madara?"

"Yes."

"_Damn_, what'd you do to piss _him_ off?" Anko said. She leaned forward from the pot, eagerness in her eyes.

"I was just trying to… get him back home, is all."

Anko's face grew very suddenly distrustful. "So you work for the Uchihas, then."

"No, not—exactly. We're… _supposed_ to be allies."

Anko scoffed. "_Allies? _ Jeez, buddy, you must be dumb as hell. Uchihas don't help none but their own. They got a bad habit of screwin' over anyone that tries to get in with 'em."

Hashirama's eyes fell. "We were _trying_ to change that…"

"Who, you?"

"Me, my clan, the Uchiha clan…"

Anko scoffed again, returning to the pot. "Can't set a bone that ain't broken…"

"Excuse me?"

"You can't reason with Uchihas, I mean," Anko replied. "S'how it's always been. An' they're sorta proud of it too."

But hadn't it been that every Uchiha but Madara had wanted to call a truce? To live in peace? "Not all Uchihas are like that, Anko-san."

"Sure, says the guy who got his ass kicked by the head honcho."

Hashirama didn't say anything for a while after that.

Anko had gotten him thinking about Madara again.

He still couldn't figure out why exactly, he'd gone and done what he did. Things had been going so well, otherwise! He was drafting out new laws with Tobirama, based on talks with the Uchiha elders, and was receiving audiences from other clans that wanted to join him in his vision of unification.

He had no reason to suspect anything when, the morning that everything went wrong, Madara left for somewhere. He was apt to take walks or journeys at random, anyways, and Hashirama knew this. Nothing had seemed wrong.

And then he'd come back with the nine-tailed fox, a monstrous legend, in his possession, roaring like a thunderstorm over the cliffs that cradled and protected the young village.

Hashirama had very little time to act.

He told Mito that he'd be back soon, and for her not to worry about him. He told Tobirama to protect the village in his absence.

And he half-lured, half-chased Madara away from the village, and they began to fight.

He couldn't imagine how worried about him Mito must be now, or Tobirama.

And what had become of Madara?

"Here ya go, big guy." Anko broke him out of his thoughts, placing a bowl of hot rice porridge in front of him. "Eat up."

"Ah, thank you…" Hashirama took the bowl and began to eat, ravenously. He had the bowl emptied in only a few swallows.

"I _knew_ you were hungry. Want more?" Hashirama nodded. Anko took his bowl and began ladling more porridge into it. "So, where's your village, anyways?" she said, handing him his second bowl. "When my Pa comes home we can talk about gettin' you back there."

"It's called Konohagakure," Hashirama replied.

Anko's face, which had been smirking pleasantly, became very suddenly confused. "Say that again?"

"Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in Leaves."

She shook her head, exhaling in disbelief. "There's no such place."

"Well, it's a bit far away, and it hasn't been around for very long-"

"No, no, I _know_ what it _was_. It was that ninja village they tried to set up before the Uchiha clan went and destroyed it."

Hashirama felt his breath die in his chest.

"…you're not… serious, are you?"

"Of course I'm serious," Anko said. "I mean, nobody even lives _near_ there any more, why would you think-"

Hashirama was beginning to stand, however, damning the weakness in his legs. He had to leave.

"Hey, where you goin'?"

Konohagakure? Destroyed? Surely not, he couldn't have been asleep more than a few days…!

"Oi, Hashirama!"

The daylight outside the house was almost blinding, and when his eyes adjusted, Hashirama saw in the near distance, beyond the other, nearby houses, the great gashes in the earth that must have given the village of Ootani its name.

In all his time wandering the Land of Fire, Hashirama had never seen anything like it. The Land of Fire was one of rolling hills and grand forests, not these scar-like, rocky crags.

Anko had followed him. "Be _careful!_ You could hurt yourself."

"Where is this place?" Hashirama said.

"Didn't I just tell you?" She was reaching for his arm now.

"I've never seen this place before," Hashirama continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "The land isn't like this."

Anko gave up on tugging his arm, her breathing agitated from the effort. "The heck are you talking about, man?"

"The northern areas, those canyons weren't here before, I know it."

"The canyons…?" Anko frowned in thought. "I dunno, they've been here as long as _I_ can remember, but my grandpa told me stories 'bout how the Uchiha clan made 'em a long time ago in some huge fight, or something. I mean, I always thought he was just tryin' to scare me, but—hey, are you okay?"

"Anko-san, I think I'm missing something here…"

He had to swallow, feeling heat and pain in his eyes.

"When was Konohagakure destroyed? How long ago?"

Anko opened her mouth to answer, but confusion stayed her tongue. "Wha-?"

"Anko-o! Where are ya, girl?"

Anko's head snapped over her shoulder. "Oi! Pa! That you?"

There was the rustle and crackle of a person approaching from the woods, and soon after, two men appeared. One was dressed rather like Anko, with a roughly-tied kimono and messy hair, while the other was far more neatly attired in gray robes.

"That big guy you picked up finally woke up, Pa!" Anko continued.

"Ah, good. Kuroshi-san was just askin' about him!" Anko's father came closer; Hashirama could see the stubble on his face.

"Who?" Anko said.

"Kuroshi Yamato, at your service," the man in gray said, bowing courteously. "And this must be Senju Hashirama-sama, yes?"

Anko's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "How d'you know his name…?"

"My associates and I have been watching over the site where Senju-sama was sealed away for a long time," he replied, evenly.

"I was sealed away…?" Hashirama said.

"You've got a bit to be caught up on, Senju-sama," Yamato said. "Would you like to sit down while we talk? This may take a while."

"…I'd like to finish my meal first, if that's all right," Hashirama said. His legs had never felt so weak.

Fortunately, Yamato allowed this, and sat with a patient, though tight, posture, as Hashirama finished two more bowls of rice porridge back in the house. Anko and her father watched all this near the doorway of their home, faces wrinkled in confusion at this strange display.

A while after the last bowl was eaten, Yamato asked, "Are you finished, Senju-sama?" Hashirama nodded, unnecessarily wiping at his mouth. "Very well, then. Mitarashi-san, if you and your daughter would please wait outside while I talk to Senju-sama?"

"What for?" Anko said.

Yamato's face grew very suddenly and very frighteningly serious, almost demonic; the shadows in the room seemed to hit the deep bags under his eyes in just the wrong light.

"It is business far too dangerous and secret for your ears, young lady," he said.

"J-jeez, okay," Anko replied, fighting off a visible shiver.

"Will y'let us know when we can come back in?" her father said.

"Yes, absolutely," Yamato said, returning to an easy smile. That said (and that seen), they left.

Yamato seemed to be waiting for Hashirama to speak, after this, sitting at attention. He said, not long after, "Well?"

"Er… well, what?" Hashirama said.

"Do you have any questions for me, Senju-sama?"

"I have… a million questions," Hashirama replied.

"Oh, please, then, feel free to ask," Yamato said. "It'll give us somewhere to start."

Hashirama exhaled, his brow lowering. "Anko-san told me that the Uchiha clan destroyed Konohagakure. Is this true?"

Yamato nodded, his eyes closed. "Following your duel with Uchiha Madara, Senju-sama, he returned alive to Konohagakure and rallied his clan together in a revolt. Those who were not able to flee were killed; the village was burned to the ground."

"…and how long ago was that, exactly…?" Hashirama said, softly.

"Eighty years. You've been asleep for a very long time, Senju-sama."

Hashirama could feel his head lowering, as if there were a great weight now within it. "The survivors, is there any record of how many there were, or who…?"

Tobirama would have made sure of that, had he lived…

"Oh, yes, several," Yamato replied. "The Uzumaki clan survivors in particular managed to rescue a great amount of people. They migrated east and settled in the Land of Lightning. We are in excellent contact with them."

Which meant that Mito had probably survived; she was too clever and skilled not to. "Thank goodness…" Hashirama raised his head. "Though, um—who is this 'we' that's in contact with them, exactly?"

"We're known as TATE," Yamato said.

"Er… 'shield'?"

"It's short for _tanitsuka temukai_—the Unification Resistance. But having it sound like 'shield' makes it easier to remember," Yamato replied. "It was founded by your brother in the wake of Konohagakure's destruction as a means of responding to Uchiha violence."

"My brother survived?"

"Yes. Though some years after founding TATE he disappeared without a trace. It's believed he had gone off on his own in an attempt to assassinate Uchiha Madara, but..."

Hashirama couldn't help but laugh, though bitterly. That sounded like his brother, all right. "He wouldn't have been able to rest easily if he hadn't tried."

"So I hear, yes," Yamato replied, smiling gently. "As of today, we're the largest organized collection of shinobi and kunoichi in the world, and our allies in the Land of Lightning are the second-largest. It's really an impressive feat. Though not as impressive as the village you founded, sir."

Hashirama's eyes fell, again. "A village that I let get destroyed."

"Senju-sama, please, don't blame yourself." Yamato brought himself a little closer. "Your last act as leader was to try and draw Uchiha Madara away from your village, to protect it. That was very brave."

"If you say so," Hashirama said. He looked up, suddenly, with a thought. "Is Madara-sama still alive? Anko-san talked about him as if he were…"

Yamato inhaled through his nose, his mouth drawn. "That's not an easy question to answer. The Uchiha clan's current leader goes by the name of Madara, but considering the nature of the injuries you inflicted upon him in your duel, and his age, it's possible that the man in charge now is merely a figurehead using his name."

"Ah, yes… It's been eighty years, after all…" Hashirama said. "He sealed me away, didn't he? Knowing he couldn't win the battle. I remember that."

"Yes, so it seems," Yamato said. "According to our analysts, he used some sort of genjutsu to turn your Wood Release against you and seal you into a tree. The tree itself has been under TATE's watch ever since we found it. Even if you didn't wake up, we didn't want your body desecrated, sir."

"That's very kind of you," Hashirama said, hesitantly.

Somehow, though, this made Yamato smile especially warmly. "I've been in charge of watching over you for the past ten years, so you're very welcome. You know," he added, shuffling forward again a little, "there's a particular reason why I was chosen as your guardian lately."

"And what would that be?" Hashirama said.

Yamato looked around, apparently searching for something, before grabbing a wooden spoon that was resting by the hearth. He held it upright in his left hand, and began making a pulling motion with his right hand above it, like a magician.

And the spoon began to sprout leaves.

Hashirama's eyes widened. "You have a Wood Release also?"

"Not nearly as strong as yours, sir, but yes," Yamato replied, with a note of pride at the end of his words.

"But that's… impossible, I never had children to pass on my gift to," Hashirama said.

"Oh, well, I _am_ a Senju, on my mother's side," Yamato said. "But there have been such innovations in understanding bloodlines these days, Senju-sama. It's believed that the Wood Release showing up in me is due to mutations in my blood; Shintaku-sensei has written so many fascinating books on the subject…"

"Pardon me, but I really don't understand anything that you're saying…" Hashirama said, somewhat sheepishly.

"Oh, pardon _me_," Yamato replied. His eyes darted to the sprouted spoon, and with a flustered motion he wiped the leaves off of it and put it back on the hearth. He cleared his throat, afterward, replacing his enthusiasm for poised composure. "At any rate, because of my similar gift to yours, I was assigned to be your guardian. Though there was a bit of confusion recently, since we found your tree twisted open and your presence missing. The seal had apparently worn off. But we managed to track you down."

"I see," Hashirama said. He didn't' say anything, for a time. "So, then, now what? Since I'm awake, now…"

"For now, Senju-sama," Yamato said, "you rest. And once you're feeling better, we're going to visit my boss. I believe he has a job for you."


	2. Fury

_Chapter 2 - Fury_

* * *

Hashirama made a point of thanking his hosts, before he and Yamato left the next day. "I'm sorry I can't repay you in any way," he said, as he rose from his bow.

"Oh _please_, it was no trouble." Anko's mother had arrived in the evening and made them a rich dinner of chicken and rice—though Hashirama passed on the meat in favor of the mushrooms she had gathered and prepared on the side.

"Seriously, you were asleep like the entire time," Anko continued. "B'sides, s'not every day you get a long-lost king staying in your house."

"I'm not a king, Anko-san!" Hashirama protested, which only made her laugh.

At Hashirama's behest, however, Yamato said that TATE would send some money to the Mitarashi family to compensate for their care. And after that, they were on their way.

"The journey won't take us very long if we run," Yamato explained, outside of the village. "That's why I wanted you recuperated. My boss doesn't like it if anyone but him wastes time, really…"

"I understand. Which direction are we headed?" Hashirama said.

"South. Our headquarters is quite near the former site of Konohagakure. Call it symbolic," Yamato replied, shrugging. "Also, it's isolated. We aren't bothered, not even by the Uchiha clan. Then again, we have sensor nin at outposts away from the main base, so we usually take care of intruders long before they're a problem…"

"Ah, certainly…" Hashirama said. "Well, Yamato-san, please lead the way."

"Of course, sir."

And they began on their way.

There was very little time for talking, at the speed they were going. But they stopped for water and rest from time to time, sometimes because Yamato had to check in with people in villages and outposts along the way—TATE agents, Hashirama had to assume—and other times just for the sake of resting, which allowed for at least a few words.

"So what's he like? Your boss, I mean," Hashirama asked. He was treating himself to a peach he had grown (to Yamato's awe). "What's his name again? Hatake?"

"Yes, Director Hatake Kakashi," Yamato replied. "He's… an interesting man."

"Interesting how?"

"Well, he's brilliant, undeniably," Yamato said. He adjusted his position on the log where they were sitting, leaning over into a looser crouch. "His father was a member of TATE before him, you see, and Kakashi-sama himself joined the organization at the age of six."

"Uh-huh."

"So TATE's practically his family, you understand. He became our leader and director around the same time I was assigned to your case, sir, and has been doing a very good job since. He's just…"

"Just what?"

"Well, he's… eccentric. He might seem a bit casual when you meet him, Senju-sama, but he takes his job truly very seriously…"

"Ah, I see," Hashirama said. He took another bite of his peach. "Well, that doesn't seem so bad…"

Yamato shrugged, nodding a few times. "I suppose you'll see what I mean when we get there."

This was something of an excellent prelude for when they actually met with the man, a few hours later.

Hashirama was very much taken with the surroundings of the TATE headquarters first, though.

He could tell immediately that, whatever had happened 80 years ago, the damage had been catastrophic. What used to be dense, beautiful forests were now lush meadows of tall, tall grass, with young trees reaching up here and there, barely tall enough to provide shade. As peaceful as it looked now, Hashirama's heart ached, because he knew what it had once been, and he had loved those forests dearly.

Yamato led him, after a time, to a stream that became a river that tumbled over a high cliff and emptied into a vast, deeply blue lake.

"We've arrived, Senju-sama," he announced, at the cliff's edge. "Looks awfully peaceful for a resistance headquarters, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it's… quite lovely," Hashirama replied, vaguely breathless.

"The entrance is down below," Yamato said, motioning with his hand, "near the mouth of the waterfall. If you're tired, we'll just go around, but otherwise, we'll-"

But Hashirama had already begun down the side of the cliff face, sliding down the surface with a chakra-covered hand. Yamato put his hands on his hips, more of an exhale than a laugh escaping his mouth, before leaping over to join him.

On the ground together, Yamato motioned again. "Through here, sir." Near the waterfall itself, but not yet behind it, Yamato tapped a section of the rock wall, which rumbled dryly and swung inward, revealing a corridor that sloped gently downward. The air within was quite cool. Yamato led him in, down the hallway and a series of stairs and doorways, before they finally got where they were going.

"Welcome to the TATE headquarters, Senju-sama," Yamato said.

Hashirama was somewhat overwhelmed.

It felt like he'd stepped into the shadow of his dream; men and women in gray robes and armor, like Yamato, were everywhere within the high-ceilinged space. Some were coming in and out of corridors carved into the rock, while others were sparring with wooden weapons, or carrying metal ones. Ninjas, all of them, but clearly few of them belonged to any one clan.

They were united.

"Hatake-sama's quarters are this way, Senju-sama," Yamato said. "If you would please follow me."

Hashirama did. As they traveled, Yamato was hailed by a passing shinobi. "Back from another mission, Kuroshi?" he said.

"Can't talk now!" Yamato replied, jovially. "Gotta report to Director Hatake."

The others that passed them said nothing, staring pointedly at Hashirama. Though he had to wonder if they really knew who he was, or if he was just a newcomer to them, or if they thought he was a threat, of some kind. Hashirama couldn't quite sense from where or whom it was coming from, but there was a faint sense of danger around, like the air before a skirmish. But Yamato didn't seem worried, so Hashirama tried not to worry either.

Yamato led him, eventually, to a series of corridors near the back of the main chamber, and after that a ladder to an upper floor. The walls were cleanly carved—perhaps someone with a talent for Earth Release techniques had made it? Light was provided not by torches or candles but strangely-glowing glass orbs suspended very few feet from the ceiling.

Yamato must have noticed Hashirama's eyes upon them, because he explained, "It's bottled lightning. A gift from our friends out east."

"Fascinating," Hashirama replied.

Yamato smiled, and nodded. "We're here," he said.

He opened the heavy, wooden, gate-like door before them, and they stepped into Hatake's office.

Hatake himself was seated in front of a great window overlooking the main room through which they had entered. He did not turn to face them, as they entered; he seemed to be reading, actually.

"Director Hatake, sir, I have Senju Hashirama with me," Yamato said; his voice had gotten very crisp and official.

"I know, I saw you enter." Hatake put his book on the ground, and stood, turning to face them. "It's nice to see you awake, Hashirama-san. You're a lot taller than I thought you'd be."

Hatake was a fairly tall man, himself, though not as tall as Hashirama—few people were. He couldn't have been older than thirty, but his hair was already gray, and closely-cut. His left eye was covered by an eye-patch, under which snaked a violent-looking series of scars, and the lower half of his face was similarly wrapped in bandages.

"I'm very pleased to meet you as well, Hatake-san," Hashirama replied, bowing. "Kuroshi-san informed me that you're interested in having me join TATE."

"Right on target," Hatake replied. "Since discovering you were still technically alive, we've been formulating plans for how best to involve you. You actually couldn't have woken up at a better time."

"Oh, why… is that?" Hashirama said.

"Even a couple of years ago, you'd have just been involved in skirmishes with the Uchiha," Hatake said. "But over these past few months, we've received information that indicates the Uchiha clan is planning an all-out attack on the rest of the world."

"A war?"

Hatake nodded. "A particularly one-sided war, at that. Which is why your talents are needed now more than ever, Hashirama-san."

"I'll help in whatever way I can," Hashirama replied. "I mean, I can't help but feel a little responsible for how things have turned out…"

"It's a complicated situation, Hashirama-san. The current state of the Uchiha clan has much more to do with the leadership of Uchiha Madara than your absence, in my opinion."

Hashirama had a very uncomfortable twist in his stomach.

"Please, why don't you sit down with me? Let's talk," Hatake said, gesturing to the cushions by the window. "I'm sure Kuroshi did a decent job in getting you a little caught up, but I'm also sure there are things you still need to know. Eighty years is a long time."

"…yes, it certainly is," Hashirama said, and took a seat on one of the cushions. Hatake joined him, though Yamato, he noticed, stood at attention by the door instead.

"Hashirama-san, TATE is presently facing a potential threat of unknown size and severity," Hatake began. "The Uchiha clan is excessively well-trained and well-armed, but until very recently, their aggression has only been aimed at other large clans, and any civilian settlement larger than a hamlet. We've been opposing them whenever these flare-ups happen."

Hashirama nodded, with the pause.

"Presently, we believe they're collecting their forces. Amassing an army. We're not yet sure where they are first going to strike, or when, which is why we're preparing to our best ability in response."

"Do you know why they're doing this _now?_" Hashirama asked.

"That's honestly anyone's guess," Hatake replied. "My theory is that whoever's using Madara's name now is just antsy and over-ambitious."

"So Madara-sama himself—the one I fought—he's really dead, then?"

Hatake shrugged. "Could be. The whole issue of who—or what—Uchiha Madara even is these days is something of a puzzle, really. It's easiest just to think of him as a… figurehead, nowadays."

The same answer Yamato had given him, more or less. "Ah, I see…" Hashirama replied. The uncertainty ate at his voice.

"It makes the Uchiha clan's actions make a bit more sense, anyways," Hatake continued. "They seem to switch focuses every couple of decades. About twenty years ago, they were downright intent on burning the Land of Lightning to the ground, for some reason. And before that, they were messing around in the Land of Mist. Kinda bizarre, really."

"Sounds strange indeed," Hashirama said. "In my dealings with the clan, they were far more concerned with honor and glory than conquest. Even as my enemies."

"I'm not sure conquest is their aim, Hashirama-san," Hatake said. "Destruction and intimidation, sure, but they've mostly kept to their home base. They haven't settled into any of the areas they've sacked, and they only return to them to make sure they stay destroyed, for the most part"

Imagined memories of his beautiful Konohagakure in flames curved Hashirama's hands, folded in his lap, into tight fists.

"That upsets you, huh," Hatake said.

"It's terrible. I can't understand why anyone would do this, much less the Uchiha clan…"

"The story goes that when Uchiha Madara came back from his fight with you," Hatake said, "he had burns all over his body and was half-insane, and that he gathered his followers afterward by coercion or by force, killing whoever opposed him or wouldn't join—even members of his own clan. He even changed the clan crest from a fan to a blood-soaked _skull. _I wouldn't expect rationality out of him, or anyone associated with him, Hashirama-san."

Hashirama nodded again. "So what do you want me to do?"

"When the time comes? You'll fight," Hatake replied. "For now, thought, you're going to be our Madara."

"…excuse me?"

But before Hatake could reply in any way, the great door to his quarters swung open, apparently to Yamato's surprise. He jumped a little, and visibly had to collect himself.

The person who came through the door, meanwhile, was a woman, and her hair was a shade of red that Hashirama knew very well. She wore spectacles, and long sleeves of chainmail that covered her arms to the wrists.

"Director Hatake, sir, we have a minor situation."

Hashirama may as well have been invisible to her, and apparently now Hatake, who began speaking ot her without a moment's hesitation. "What sort of situation."

"Sai says there's an intruder and he's very upset that I kept him from taking care of it." She crossed her arms. "Will you talk him down?"

"An intruder, huh?" Hatake said. "Funny, you'd think I'd have noticed."

"I know," the woman replied, sourly. "Well, sir, what should we do?"

"Get him over here. He can meet the intruder himself," Hatake said, with no change in expression.

The woman seemed suddenly to notice Hashirama in the room, and her eyebrows rose. "Ah, you mean this man?"

"Yes. Bring him in, now. Oh, and, Yamato, could you go get Koyama too? Have her bring the fan."

"Yes, sir," Yamato said, and left the room after the woman did.

"Yeah, things are kinda like that around here," Hatake said, in the silence that followed. "People coming and going."

"I-I see…" Hashirama said.

"That woman—she'll be back soon—her name is Karin," Hatake continued. "Among our enemies, though, she's known better as the Black Widow. Keep that in mind when she comes back."

"A black widow, as in… a spider?"

"One bite from her and you're dead," Hatake replied, casually. "Don't worry, though, she won't bite you. She's my right hand, and as of today, your ally. You'll be working with her from time to time, I imagine."

"I'll be sure to treat her with… due respect, Hatake-san," Hashirama replied.

"She'll appreciate it," Hatake said. "She more than deserves it."

The door opened again; Karin had returned, and she had a man with her that carried a bow and an annoyed expression. He had the palest skin Hashirama had ever seen, and an almost woman-like face.

"See? Your intruder. He's Director Hatake's guest," Karin said, gesturing with her hand. "Are you glad you didn't shoot him now?"

The pale man merely pursed his lips, and Karin sighed.

"Sai, this is Senju Hashirama," Hatake said. "He was Yamato's assignment."

"I know," the man named Sai replied.

"You know _what,_ Sai," Hatake said.

"That he was Senju Hashirama. I'm unsure of your choice in bringing him here so immediately, sir," Sai said. He added, with a mumble of embarrassment, "I wasn't actually going to shoot him, I just wanted to see how he'd react to my presence…"

Karin sighed again, but Hatake shrugged. "Certainly, Sai. Though I'd appreciate it if you brought up issues like this to me _before_ you go threatening my guests."

"So your name is Sai, then?" Hashirama said, smiling as much as he could.

"For our purposes here, yes," Sai replied.

"I'm pleased to meet you."

Sai scoffed.

"Sai, be _nice_," Karin said.

"No, it's all right, I understand," Hashirama said. "Neither of us have any reason to trust each other, beyond the fact that we both work for TATE. It's not much of a bond."

"What makes you say this so easily?" Sai said.

"It's the only way I could have ever come to an understanding with the Uchiha clan, Sai-san."

Sai scoffed again. "And look where that got everyone."

"_Sai_," Karin interjected, poisonously.

"I will tell you here, Senju, that if you put _any_ trust in the Uchiha clan, you _will_ be killed. Either by them, or by us. We don't suffer traitors," Sai said. "Especially those that associate with that barbaric, merciless-"

"That's enough, Sai," Hatake said, raising a hand. "You've gotten your point across."

Karin pulled on the quiver slung across Sai's back, drawing him back to her. He was visibly sulking, now, ink-dark eyes burning at the floor.

"The Uchiha clan you remember is not the same as the one you will be facing, Hashirama-san," Hatake said. "However, your memories of how they used to be are some of the most powerful weapons you own. Hope and optimism are hard to find in times like these."

"Optimism, huh," Hashirama said.

"It's nice to have a best case scenario in mind, and people with a willingness to negotiate," Hatake replied. "All of us would rather, eventually, reach an armistice or something than for there to be a complete genocide."

The smooth words settled roughly in Hashirama's chest.

"So keep that stuff going for us, okay? Memories stretch for a longer time than you think," Hatake concluded.

The door to his quarters opened again; Yamato had returned, and he had a brown-eyed woman with him, dressed in clothing Hashirama thought more typical of a Land of Earth peasant. Her brown hair was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck.

And she was carrying something that Hashirama knew and remembered very, very well.

"That's Madara-sama's-!" he began.

"The fan of Uchiha Madara, one of our greatest treasures," Hatake said. Though his face was covered, his eye wrinkled in a smile. "We recovered it from the site where you were sealed away, Hashirama-san. We've been saving it for you."

"For—for _me?_ No, I couldn't possibly…"

"Hashirama-san, right?" The woman with the fan waved to get his attention. "Hi, I'm Koyama Ten Ten, one of TATE's weapons specialists. And believe me, there are very few people in the world that have the skill and power necessary to use a weapon like this. I've only heard stories, but we all have reason to believe you're more than worthy of owning it now."

Hashirama stared at the fan. It looked exactly as it once had; gourd-shaped, with black tomoe painted on its surface. It looked almost harmless in Ten Ten's hands, docile, not whipping up hurricane as he knew it could.

"…but it's not _mine_," he said, softly.

"Hashirama-san, remember how I told you you're going to be _our_ Madara?" Hatake said.

"Yes—I'm still confused about that."

"Well, what I meant was that you are going to be for us what Madara is, currently, to the Uchiha clan. A symbol of what we represent, what we're fighting for. And you taking this fan as your weapon is a part of that: a reunion of Senju and Uchiha. What Konohagakure used to stand for."

An echo of words—old words, his words—floated through Hashirama's memory.

"Knowing this, you think you're up for it?" Hatake said.

Hashirama stepped forward, and he took the fan from Ten Ten. It felt light, and the wood of the handle almost felt like it was vibrating at his touch, saturated with power. Madara's power, and now… Hashirama's.

A symbol of a union long passed.

"It feels like my duty," Hashirama finally said.

"It _was_ your duty," Hatake replied. "From what I understand, the title you were given as leader of your village was… Hokage, wasn't it? The Fire Shadow?"

He'd barely been Hokage for three days, when Madara ran off, when the village was destroyed. "Yes, it was…"

"If you don't mind, then, that'll be your codename here," Hatake said. "And we'll refer to you as such in mission reports and things. Like I told you, people remember things. Having an actual Hokage on hand will be very helpful."

Hashirama stopped looking at the fan, and once more, he smiled to the best of his ability. "I'll help you in any way that I can."

"Good. Your first mission's tomorrow, actually, if you're up for it. You'll be heading out with me and with Yamato to the north-western border, near the Land of Earth."

"Oh, no, I don't think I'm up for any sort of fighting yet…" Hashirama said. "I mean, even with Madara-sama's fan-"

"You won't need to do any fighting," Hatake said. "We're going recruiting, actually. There's this guy up there calling himself the Iron Man. Karin's been collecting information on him under cover as a servant in his house, and we've almost gotten him on our side. Having you meet him will tie things together quite nicely."

"Seriously, all you'll need to do is talk to him. Though you might have to talk for a while," Karin said, with a note of a sigh towards the end of her words. Hashirama was somewhat relieved to see that it wasn't directed towards Sai, who seemed to have lost interest in what was going on around him and was fiddling with the tip of one of his arrows.

"I am at your service, Director Hatake," Hashirama said.

"Great." Hatake's eye wrinkled in another smile. "Then, you and I will head out with Yamato tomorrow morning. And Sai, let's give you something to do—I'll send you out to look for the Giant, as well."

"Do I _have_ to, sir?" Sai said. "We've tried finding him three _times_ already, we should just give up."

"Who's the Giant…?" Hashirama said.

"An ornithologist with _spectacular_ anger issues," Karin said, flatly. "I'll go with you, Sai. If _I_ can't find him, then he's either dead or useless to us."

"Hmph." Sai crossed his arms. "Fine, if you're going with me, I'll go too."

"So good to see us all getting along," Hatake said. "Right, then. Yamato, why don't you show Hashirama-san to his quarters, now? Some food and rest seems like the right thing."

"Of course, sir," Yamato replied. "This way, Senju-sama. Bring the fan with you, it's all right."

They left Hatake's office—Sai and Karin and Ten Ten remaining behind—and Yamato led Hashirama to a cell-like room with a futon and few other amenities. "We'll move you up to a nicer place soon, Senju-sama," Yamato said, almost apologetically. "We weren't anticipating you back with us so soon."

"That's all right, this is fine," Hashirama said.

"Meals are the fifth hour after noon. Would you like me to get you then?" Yamato said.

"Yes, thank you."

But Hashirama ended up falling asleep before that could happen, and Yamato did not disturb him, apparently. He placed Madara's fan, gently, on the floor across from where he slept, trying not to look at it too much, and trying even harder not to let his guilt consume him.

Yamato did wake him up in the morning, however, bringing him to the canteen for breakfast before they set out with Director Hatake for the north. Hashirama strapped Madara's fan to his back, after donning the robes and armor provided to him: dark blue kimono and trousers, a chainmail undershirt, and gauntlets and a breastplate, all painted red with shining silver accents.

"We want you to look presentable," Hatake explained. He, however, did not change out of his gray robes, like Yamato's, nor did he remove the long, dark coat he wore over them.

"Sure, that's… fine," Hashirama said, albeit awkwardly; he didn't expect to be wearing armor for what was apparently just a recruitment mission, but he supposed that they wanted him to look the part they had in mind. He tied a red sash over his forehead, then, to keep his hair out of his eyes.

Together, they went out.

And on the way up, Hashirama learned about the Iron Man.


	3. The Iron Man

_Chapter 3 - The Iron Man_

* * *

"So, who exactly is this 'Iron Man' we're going to see?"

Hashirama asked this early in the journey; they were traveling at a fairly leisurely pace, certainly enough to talk to each other.

"Shall I debrief him, sir?" Yamato said, in response to this.

Hatake raised his hand. "Nah, I'll do it." He motioned for Hashirama to come closer, and once they were walking side-by-side, Hatake began to tell his story.

"As you can probably guess, the Iron Man—well, _Tetsu-jin_, if you wanna get fancy—isn't his real name," Hatake began. "He's actually from a clan you might know: the Nara."

"The Nara clan! Yes, I was in talks with them back then. They were interested in joining us, along with the Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Sarutobi clans…"

"Mm, yeah, their whole generational alliance thing, isn't it?" Hatake said.

"Yes, their alliance was one of my biggest influences in planning Konohagakure." Hashirama's voice fell somewhat. "You know, clans working together…"

"Yeah, I know," Hatake replied. "Insular as they are, they still helped your brother in putting together TATE, however indirectly. I guess great minds draw from the same wells."

Hashirama smiled slightly.

"Anyways, back to the Iron Man," Hatake said. "His real name is Nara Shikamaru. He's the current clan head; took over when he was, eh, sixteen, seventeen years old. His parents were killed in battle so he took over a bit earlier than expected."

"I see…"

"He's always been kind of a brat, really," Hatake continued. "Squandering his wealth on stupid stuff, messing around with peasant girls but refusing to marry—totally spoiled rotten. Couple-a years ago, though, someone put a hit out on him. Got him kidnapped an' dragged all the way to the Land of Wind. An' after that, while he was being held hostage, this kid named Sasori got a hold of him."

"All the way to the Land of Wind…? That's quite a distance," Hashirama said. "Who's this Sasori? What clan is he from?"

"Clanless, s'far as we know, but he had Shimura clan ties. Puppet jutsu user." Hatake sniffed. "A _seriously_ deranged kid. Nara Shikamaru's a top-class asshole, to be sure, but I wouldn't wish what happened to him on _anyone_."

"Um… what did this Sasori person do?" Hashirama said, in the silence that followed.

"Sasori began converting his body into a puppet, while he was still alive. Replaced his blood with preservatives, replaced his bones with metal, bleached and dried his skin, even cut out his heart while it was still beating and put it into a container to keep him from dying until the transformation was complete."

"H-How is something like that even possible…?"

"This Sasori kid was as smart as he was insane. He had means. Horrifying, isn't it?"

"Indeed…" Hashirama said, trying not to imagine any of this process.

"Long story short, Nara managed to escape by learning puppet jutsu himself—through observation or something, I don't know if he had help. He got control back of his body, and blew Sasori's workshop sky-high before running off into the desert. Some nomads found him and got him home," Hatake said. "Since then, he's been making a bit of a name for himself as an armor designer. Publically at least. We didn't know he was the Iron Man until only recently."

"Ah, so he wasn't public about it?" Hashirama said.

"Hell no. We actually thought he was some sorta Uchiha weapon for a while, a remotely-controlled human puppet or something. I mean, we knew what Sasori was capable of, and he wasn't exactly a good guy." Hatake shrugged. "It wasn't until we started having skirmishes with him that we realized he wasn't attacking the guys the Uchihas liked going after. He was _defending_ them _from _the Uchihas."

"Oh, I see," Hashirama said. "Then… why didn't he just say who he was?"

"Put yourself in his situation," Hatake replied. "Going public would put his clan and his allies all in danger of an Uchiha attack."

"Ah, of course…" Hashirama said. "How do you know who he really is, then…?"

"We have some really great spies, so we figured it out eventually," Hatake said. "We sent Karin over a while back to infiltrate the Nara compound and gather information, and later gain the trust of the Nara clan and their allies. We wanted to protect his privacy, after all. Last thing we want is for potential allies to think we're willing to screw them over."

"Sounds reasonable," Hashirama said.

"Yeah. And then the jerk goes and makes a public declaration anyways, saying he's the Iron Man." Hatake said. "Having Karin over there ended up still working in our favor _eventually_, but still."

"Mm…" Hashirama thought for a moment. "So you thought he was a… puppet, at first? Controlled from a distance?"

"Yup. Sure didn't _look_ human."

"Is Nara-san himself no longer human, then…?"

"Oh, he's human all right," Hatake replied, with an edge of annoyance. "Even though Sasori went and ruined his body, he's still got a human heart. A fickle, immature, _very_ human heart."

Yamato, who had taken a place beside Hashirama, was wearing a smile of pained politeness, or knowingness.

"But he no longer has a human_ body_, yes?" Hashirama said.

"Flesh and blood, no. Wood and metal, yes. Hence the whole 'Iron Man' thing," Hatake said. "He's kind of shiny, besides."

"I… suppose I follow," Hashirama said. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the logistics of a person with an artificial body.

"I know this sounds confusing, but Nara's the kind of guy that doesn't like playing by the rules," Hatake said.

"And we want him on our side…?"

"Better to have him sorta with us than neutral or against us," Hatake replied. "He fights well, and beyond that he's one of the most brilliant tacticians currently living."

"Is that so…!" Hashirama said.

"Oh yes, Nara-san is particularly brilliant," Yamato added. Hatake just sighed in mild distaste.

"At any rate, his contemporaries, the Yamanaka and the Akimichi heirs, are far more reasonable than he is," Hatake continued. "Which is a good thing, especially since Shimura Danzo got killed."

"Shimura who?"

"Old, bitter Sarutobi clan associate that would rather blow up his allies than let them disobey him, or leave him behind. Yeah. He's the one that ordered the hit on Nara, we eventually found out. He apparently thought the kid was too much of a menace to lead his clan or work effectively for him. Nara took care of him personally after Shimura went and kidnapped the Yamanaka clan heir himself; she found out Shimura was up to, see."

"He sounds like a… very unpleasant person," Hashirama said. "This Shimura Danzo, I mean."

"It's people like him that end up being more dangerous than the Uchiha clan," Hatake replied. "So paranoid they'll kill their own allies."

"I see," Hashirama said.

"I feel you'll like most everyone in the compound these days, though," Yamato added, brightly. "They're very cooperative."

"Akimichi and Yamanaka at least, they're decent," Hatake said, and that was apparently it for conversation about the Iron Man until they actually arrived at the Nara compound.

Hashirama had been there before, in the past, and was surprised to notice how little it had truly changed.

The three compounds were structured almost like castles: great houses at their centers, around which were smaller houses, laced with gardens and trees. The compounds themselves were square in formation, and as Hashirama and the others crested a hill that overlooked it, it almost appeared as if they were stacked atop each other, though which compounds formed the base and which was on top seemed to change depending on the direction of one's approach. A great, circular wall surrounded them all, dotted with gates.

The fact that this settlement—his Konohagakure in miniature—was still standing brought a strange sense of relief to Hashirama's heart. These people had survived and were doing quite well, thank goodness.

"We'll enter through the Yamanaka gate," Hatake announced, as they got closer. "They're friendliest with us, it'll go faster."

The Yamanaka gate, it turned out, was attended by a pair of yellow-haired guards, who held their hands out at the sight of Hashirama and his companions, squares forming in the space between their fingers.

"Hey, we're from TATE. We come in peace." Hatake had his hands raised as he approached.

One of the guards lowered his hands slightly. "Haven't heard from TATE since that red-head left. What brings you here?"

"A meeting with the clan heads," Hatake replied.

"What for?"

"A discussion of some new developments regarding the Uchiha clan. For the sake of goodwill, precaution, all that. So we all survive. May we come in?"

The guards exchanged glances, and for a while didn't say anything. Hashirama was almost startled when one of them finally said, "Ino-sama will see you. Go on through."

Hashirama glanced between them, befuddled, as the gate opened and they passed in.

"Yamanaka clan mind-speaking," Yamato whispered to him, helpfully. "Hatake-san's a big fan. If we'd gone through the Akimichi gate it'd have taken us a lot longer, besides."

"And forget using the Nara gate," Hatake added, without whispering.

"Ah, I see…" Hashirama said.

Hatake apparently knew where he was going, because he led them through an avenue of plum trees to a residence near the easternmost wall.

"Ino-san's house," Yamato whispered again.

"The clan head, right?" Hashirama said. Yamato nodded. "She doesn't live in the big house?"

"Goodness, no. That's for everyone to use."

A woman had appeared; she was wearing a violet kimono that was cut to just above her knees, and her obi matched the pale gold of her hair. Hashirama could feel his face growing a little warm. Had fashions changed so much that women now exposed that _much_ of their legs…?

She smiled warmly as she approached them, and bowed. "Yamato-san, it's _so_ good to see you again. Same goes to you Hatake-san," she said. She tilted her head slightly, blue-green eyes widening. "And who is this with you?"

"Senju Hashirama," Hatake said.

The woman—Yamanaka Ino, Hashirama had to assume—covered her mouth with her hand. "Senju Hashirama? As in… the one that was sealed up in that tree?"

"The very same," Hatake replied.

Her smile grew, and her eyes almost seemed to gain a luminance to them, like light behind glass. "Is that _so!_" She bowed again. "Senju-sama, my grandmother told me many stories about you and your deeds. I'm honored to meet you."

"Oh, um, please…" Hashirama said, bowing himself, and trying to look at her face and not anything else.

"Please, the three of you, won't you come in?" Ino continued, beckoning with her hand. "I'll have tea brought. Then we can talk about these… _developments_ of yours, Hatake-san."

"There's nothing I'd love more," Hatake said.

"Is it that jasmine tea we had last time I visited?" Yamato said, cheerfully, as they entered. "I enjoyed that very much."

"Anything for you, Yamato," Ino replied.

"A pepper as always," Hatake noted.

"You flatter me, Hatake-san."

Hashirama felt increasingly awkward as they gathered together in the common room of Ino's house. Yamato talked to her casually, like an old friend, while tea was brought to them by servants, seemingly without any sort of verbal order. Hatake lounged, but didn't say anything, even seeming to doze a little. Even though he'd taken his shoes off, Hashirama was still wearing his heavy, red-and-silver breastplate, and he didn't know if or when he'd be able to remove it here. Madara's fan lay beside him like some sort of dormant dog.

"So, then." Ino put aside her tea. "I assume you're here with intelligence about the Uchiha?"

"That, and the fact that Senju-san here's finally awake," Hatake replied. "That's pretty important."

"Mm." Ino nodded a few times. "Well, Senju-san's presence is pretty self-explanatory. What's happened with the Uchihas?"

"The rumblings are getting stronger. It's join or fend for yourself at this point, Yamanaka-san," Hatake replied. "TATE is preparing. We're gathering our allies. Your clan, and your allies, might be safer with us than on your own."

"You've told me all this before," Ino replied.

"Their first strike could come within the month, Yamanaka-san," Hatake said.

Ino's eyes were lowered as she received this. "You're sure about this?"

"As sure as we _can_ be," Hatake said. "Yamanaka-san, your clan and your allies are incredible warriors. The last thing I want is for you and yours to be swallowed up, as it were. It would be a great loss for everyone."

"Hatake-san, I appreciate the warning, but you can't possibly think that the three clans, plus the Sarutobi clan, aren't enough to protect ourselves."

"I think Senju-san might be able to change your mind about that," Hatake said, casually. "Since he's dealt with them first-hand and can tell you himself how much danger we're potentially facing."

"Hatake-san…!" Hashirama's chest felt tight in his armor. "Please, don't use me to scare people."

He received a host of glances in reply, but no words.

"…certainly, the Uchiha clan is powerful, Madara-sama especially, but…" He sighed, his eyes wandering back to the fan on the floor beside him. "Yamanaka-san, I'm not going to threaten you, and I don't want to scare you, either. But I truly don't want to see your home destroyed. That's the last thing I want."

Ino made a laugh-like noise in her throat. "Oh, you're _sweet_. Please don't worry about us. The well-being of my clan is, of course, first in my mind at all times. And, of course, I've considered a retreat and an alliance with TATE." She sighed. "It's my _comrades_ I have to convince."

"This is the first I've heard this consideration," Hatake said.

"And _that_ would be Shikamaru's fault," Ino replied, flatly.

"Figured it was."

"Shikamaru is… the Nara clan head, yes?" Hashirama said.

"When he's _home_," Ino said, managing to inject a little honey into her annoyance.

"I _would_ like to talk to him myself, sometime," Hashirama said. "If you could introduce us, maybe…? I feel maybe I'd be more of a help on that level."

Ino wove her fingers together on her lap, and tilted her head in the other direction. "Let's take this meeting to the Nara compound. If we don't ambush Shikamaru, then I doubt we'll be able to meet him."

* * *

The Nara compound was nearly identical to the Yamanaka one, even up close, and had changed just as little from Hashirama's memories. The people that wandered about within, who said hello to Ino and the others, were dark-haired, and much slighter in build than the stocky Yamanaka they'd seen before.

But instead of wandering off to a smaller, side-house, as they had for Ino, they instead entered the large central mansion.

"Shikamaru's workshop is further in." Ino sighed after speaking. "I keep telling him to move it, but does he listen to me?"

"Ino-chan, do remember that I _live_ here," a voice said. "I'm his assistance."

"Ah… that _is_ true," Ino replied, naturally, and apparently to nobody.

Hashirama looked around to try and locate where the voice had come from, but all he saw were sliding doors and wooden pillars and tatami mats. "Who… said that just now?"

"Oh, that's just Asuma-sensei," Ino replied. "He lives in the house."

"Yes, but… where _is_ he?" Hashirama said.

"Everywhere, really," Asuma's voice replied. "My heart's in the center of the house but my influence is around the entire foundation."

Hashirama felt like he was beginning to lean slightly sideways, despite himself.

"Ah, so is this that ghost Karin was telling me about, then?" Hatake said, glancing about the ceiling easily.

"Pardon me, but I am _not_ a ghost," Asuma said.

"Asuma-sensei's heart was integrated into the foundation of the house by Shikamaru after there was an accident, a few years ago," Ino said. "He manages things here now."

"Your… body is the house, then?" Hashirama said.

"Something like that," Asuma replied, and quickly moved on. "Ino-chan, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Is Shikamaru home?"

"I'm afraid not. He's out doing rounds with Chouji."

Ino sighed. "Of _course_ he is. Did he say when he'd be back?"

"Do you think he did?"

Ino sighed again. "I'll call him home, then…" She placed her hands on her temples for a moment, closing her eyes, but she opened them a moment later. "Oh, and, Asuma-sensei, you could probably keep the windows and front door open. There's a nice breeze today."

"Of course, Ino-chan."

As Ino returned to her meditative expression, the front door behind them slid open, and the rasping slide of windows being opened echoed throughout the rooms and the main hall of the mansion.

"…goodness, no wonder Karin talked about a ghost," Yamato said.

"I prefer 'displaced soul,' thank you," Asuma said.

"Oh, pardon me," Yamato replied.

"Signs and wonders," Hashirama said to himself, quietly.

Ino sighed once more, returning to them all. "Well, he'll be here _soon_. As soon as I mentioned we had a Senju guest he said he couldn't _not_ come."

"Ah… I suppose I'm fairly important, then?" Hashirama said.

"He thinks you _might_ be worth the trouble," Ino said. She paused. "His words, not mine. Let's go wait for them by the gate, it shouldn't take them long to get home."

They ended up waiting for a little more than a half hour, at the Nara gate. One of the Nara guards even asked Ino if she wanted for tea to be brought to them, which she declined, kindly. Hashirama began to grow uncomfortably warm in his armor, the early summer afternoon passing over the surrounding trees and offering little shade.

He was thinking of finally taking it off when the Iron Man arrived.

Hashirama was confused, initially, as there seemed to be two of them, at first.

One of them was an enormous figure covered in polished silver plate, well over nine feet tall. It wore a helm worked exquisitely with the face of a demon or a ghost, eyes and mouth narrowed nearly to slits.

The other was much smaller, by comparison; shorter than Hashirama, but only just. It was human in shape, certainly, but from the way it bounded and flew out of the forest, it seemed far more like a bird of prey or some other hunter. Its armor was red-painted metal, inlaid with gold; it too wore a helm, though a golden one, smooth and nearly featureless, with the same narrow-slit eyes and mouth worked into it. It was painted over with red highlights, almost like that of a kabuki actor.

The effect of both of the figures, rumbling and flying towards them with great speed, their faces inhuman and expressionless, was frightening indeed.

"What manner of creatures are these…?" Hashirama couldn't help himself.

"The Iron Man, and his war machine," Hatake replied.

The "creatures" stopped just short of the gate. The smaller of the two descended from its strange darting flight and landed before them, and immediately shifted into what was undeniably a vexed, and very human, stance, its hands on its hips.

"This what you called me here to see, Ino?" Its voice sounded male, and somewhat hollow.

"You took long enough," Ino replied, and looked up. "You okay there, Chouji?"

The giant silver figure was taking off its helm; a man's wide face with small eyes was beneath, cheeks decorated with Akimichi tattoos. His hair was cut close to his skull, and he'd obviously been sweating profusely. "I'm fine, Ino," he said.

"Hey, hey, talk to me, not him," the smaller figure said. "You called _me_ over, right?"

"If you say so, Shikamaru," Ino said. "Hatake-san and Yamato-san from TATE are here."

"Ugh, those guys?" the smaller figure, apparently Shikamaru, replied.

Hashirama could see, now that he was coming closer, that in the center of his chest was a round emblem that had the Nara clan crest painted on it in blue, and that a similar crest was on the man called Chouji's armor.

"Also, 'Yamato'?" Shikamaru continued, gesturing to the man in question. "I thought his name was 'Yes-man.'"

"It's a pleasure meeting with you again, Nara-san," Hatake said, flatly. Yamato didn't say anything, just continuing to smile.

"If you're here to ask me to join your super-secret resistance army thing, I'm still not interested." Shikamaru began to walk past them and towards the gate.

"_I'm_ not here to ask you," Hatake said. "I just brought someone with me that might put some things into perspective for you a little better."

"Yeah, like who? Another double-agent of yours?" Shikamaru said.

"No, Senju Hashirama."

Shikamaru stopped walking. His helmet—or was it his actual head?—rotated just a little too smoothly on its neck to face Hashirama.

"Were you actually listening to me when I hailed you and Chouji?" Ino said.

"Of course I was listening. I just thought you had come up with a particularly creative reason to get me back home, so it must have been important," Shikamaru replied. He reached Hashirama, and was looking him up and down, his head bobbing as he went. "Pretty flashy armor you got there."

"Um… thank you?" Hashirama replied.

Shikamaru snickered. "So you're the real Senju Hashirama, huh? The guy that thought he could actually make _peace_ with the Uchihas?"

"I'm not sure how I can be anyone else," Hashirama said.

"Hm." He turned to Hatake. "So, when your little maid-monsters don't work, you bring me dead figureheads, huh, Fury?"

"He's the real deal, Nara-san," Hatake replied.

"Whatever." Shikamaru walked past them all and into the compound, and promptly jumped into the air and away from the rest of them in his strange diving-flight.

"Oh dear. Do you want me to get him?" Chouji said. He carried his helm under one arm, and was wiping at his forehead with the other.

"He'll be in the workshop," Ino said, shaking her head. "Hatake-san, Yamato-san, Senju-san, I'm very sorry. This might take a while."

"Nothing we didn't expect going in," Yamato replied, cheerfully.

They returned to the mansion in short time, the front door still open, as Asuma had left it.

"If you're looking for Shikamaru, he's getting changed," Asuma reported, as they went in.

"Excellent," Ino replied, and kept going through anyways. The hangers-on—minus Chouji, who said he was going to get changed himself—followed her pace, quick and deliberate.

They found Shikamaru standing in front of what appeared to be a series of human bodies lined up against the wall of his workshop, all of them in various states of undress, and seemingly asleep.

"Hey, hey, excuse me? A little privacy?" Shikamaru said, looking over his shoulder.

"You're just switching bodies, it's not like you're naked," Ino replied, folding her arms.

The metal man shook his head. "Fine, just give me a minute."

He worked his hand around the blue crest in the middle of his chest, and pulled it out; it seemed to be a canister of some sort. He stood in front of one of the bodies lined up against the wall, and pushed aside the front of the robe it wore to expose a black hollow in the middle of the chest. The canister went inside of it, and a few moments later, the metal man was still, head nodded forward.

And quite suddenly, the body against the wall opened its eyes, and stretched, as if waking up. "Okay, that's better." He adjusted his robe to close it, and scratched his scalp, making his loose black hair that much messier. "I hate having to do business in my suit."

"What… just happened…?" Hashirama said.

"I can swap my heart between bodies I've made for different purposes." Shikamaru had his hands spread slightly apart, his fingers flexed and glowing with chakra. The metal body he had previously seemed to inhabit began moving away from him, and came to rest against the wall like all the other bodies. "What, Fury didn't explain it to you?" he said, when he returned to them.

"I'm sorry, it's just, techniques like this didn't exist in my time," Hashirama said. "I'm still trying to… figure out how things like this work."

"And you think _this_ guy somehow can help us with our _current_ problem, Fury?" Shikamaru wore a small, sarcastic expression; his face seemed far too elastic to be a carved, artificial creation, and it made Hashirama feel even less at ease.

"Strength is strength, regardless of when or where it comes from," Hatake replied.

"Mm, no, I don't think that's right," Shikamaru replied. "I mean, in battle, do you continue to use tactics when they've already been proven ineffective?"

"Tactics, huh," Hatake said.

"Shikamaru…" Ino was sighing, shaking her head again.

Shikamaru didn't seem to notice her. "Say this guy's the real Senju Hashirama—nobody's seen him for eighty years, so, who's to say, but I wouldn't put it past you to throw a fake at me." He gestured at Hashirama, loosely. "Even if he's as powerful as my father and my grandfather said he was, he still lost against Uchiha Madara, _and_ he caused the deaths of who knows _how_ many people as a result. How is someone like _that_ going to be _any_ help against the Uchiha? Much less _now?_"

"Shikamaru, honestly!" Ino said.

"I'm not joining you, _or_ your little friends, _especially_ if you're going off and pulling stuff like this," Shikamaru said. "There's no room in this world for idealists like Senju Hashirama. Idealism doesn't _work._"

Hatake didn't say anything. His arms were crossed, his expression patient.

"…young man, I may have failed in the past, and even if I can't correct every mistake I've made, even if I can't reverse all the damage I've done, I still have to at least try to fix things." Hashirama's tone was quiet, almost gentle. "I owe it to the people I've let down to do this. If I don't _try_, I've _failed._"

Shikamaru looked back at him, his mouth drawn low. He adjusted his robe again, a plain, white workman's jacket, trimmed with green.

"The hell, Fury," he finally said. "Where do you find guys like this?"

"Sealed up in trees, I guess," Hatake replied.

"I… really am who he says I am, you know," Hashirama said.

"What, you think I don't believe you?"

"You said yourself I might be-"

"Yeah, forget it," Shikamaru said. He tilted his head forward. "That fan you got with you. That's Uchiha handiwork, innit?"

"Yes, it, um… actually belonged to Madara-sama. But TATE gave it to me for my use," Hashirama replied.

Shikamaru scoffed. "Madara-sama, huh. Well, whatever." He crossed the room and went to a workbench, where what looked like a half-finished wooden torso rested. "I'm still not joining TATE, but I won't be an ass. Ino, let's have a party tonight."

"Excuse me?" Ino replied.

"You heard me." Shikamaru reached for an adze, and began working. "Get the kitchens going, prepare the sake, all that. Senju here deserves a welcome-back party. Asuma, can you find me a chisel?"

"Right away, Shikamaru," Asuma said, his voice much louder there in the workshop than it had seemed in the lobby.

Ino shrugged. "Well, all right. I'll take our guests to the Akimichi compound, Chouji should be changed by now," she said, gesturing to the exit.

"Are we done talking here?" Hatake said.

"Yup. See you at the party, Fury." Shikamaru just continued to work.

"Trust me, you might as well be invisible when he's working," Ino said, waving her hand. She smiled. "I'll introduce you to Chouji."

"Well, it's nice to see that Nara-san hasn't changed much," Yamato said, brightly, as they left the mansion.

"He's… well, I've seen more difficult people…" Hashirama said.

"He's been worse. And just between you and me," Ino said, looking back over her shoulder at them, "I think we'll be able to work _something_ out tonight. I'll make _sure_ of that."


End file.
